Pantusha the Cat

• HDR Photo

The Saturday Archive Series

The owner of the nearby restaurant, Pantagruel, decided to let a cat named Pantusha live inside the eatery. Soon the cat became a favorite with visitors. However once the restaurant caught fire, killing the poor pet. The restaurant’s patron renovated the restaurant, of course, and insisted a small monument be erected in memory of the cat.

Link to the article. However, there is nothing more about Pantusha in this article.

Pantusha the Cat

Waiting for Spring

• HDR Photo

This photo was taken over three weeks ago, so needless to say things look a little bit greener than this now! This was taken inside the grounds of the new Kiev Botanic Gardens, but since the lower entrance was not open this day, I did what any good photographer would do. I snuck in through an opening in the fence. :)

Easter Egg Sculpture

• HDR Photo

I know this is a bit late for Easter, but I want to show this anyway. This photo was taken Saturday evening, so it wasn't possible to post it before then. And I made the decision to post the Chernobyl photo before this one.

This photo was taken at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a religious complex in Kiev that I have shown photos of on several occasions already.

April 26th 1986, Chernobyl

• HDR Photo

My goal on this website is to post new photos three times a week during the week. Reposting something that I posted earlier is saved for the Saturday Archive Series. But sometimes, an event or an anniversary overrides that goal. Tomorrow is one of those anniversaries. The 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

Although I live within an easy day trip to Chernobyl, I have yet to visit there myself; sadly, I have yet to even visit the Chernobyl Museum here in Kiev.  Both of them are on my photography "To Do" list.  No, you can't just hop in the car and drive to Chernobyl anytime you want.  You have sign up and go with a company that is certified to run such trips.

Here's what I posted about this photo last year...

The date April 26, 1986 may remind some people of a specific event, to others, the date might sound familiar, and to others, this date is meaningless.

April 26, 1986 is the date of the Chernobyl disaster, and this sculpture commemorates this event. This event has more meaning to residents of Chernigov, since it was (and still is) the closest major population center (100,000+ residents) to Chernobyl. Chernigov lies 52 miles or 84 kilometers from Chernobyl.

Kiev, a much larger population center (2 million+) lies only 67 miles or 107 kilometers from Chernobyl.

Lavra on a January Day

• HDR Photo

The Saturday Archive Series

~~ Photo Series ~~ Churches ~~

Kiev Pechersk Lavra or Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Ukrainian: Києво-Печерська лавра, Kyievo-Pechers’ka lavra), also known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev, Ukraine.

Currently, the jurisdiction over the site is divided between the state museum, National Kiev-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchy) as the site of the chief monastery of that Church and the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra

St. Sophia, Kiev

• HDR Photo

~~ Photo Series ~~ Churches ~~

The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (meaning Holy Wisdom, and dedicated to the Holy Wisdom rather than a specific saint named Sophia). According to a less popular theory, its model was the 13-domed oaken Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (ca. 989), which Yaroslav I the Wise determined to imitate in stone as a sign of gratitude to the citizens of Novgorod who had helped him secure the Kievan throne in 1019.
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After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and during the Soviet antireligious campaign of the 1920s, the government plan called for the cathedral's destruction and transformation of the grounds into a park "Heroes of Perekop" (after a Red Army victory in the Russian Civil War in Crimea). The cathedral was saved from destruction primarily with the effort of many scientists and historians. Nevertheless, in 1934, Soviet authorities confiscated the structure from the church, including the surrounding seventeenth–eighteenth century architectural complex and designated it as an architectural and historical museum.

St. Sophia, Kiev

St. George Church, Vydubychi Monastery

• HDR Photo

~~ Photo Series ~~ Churches ~~

Vydubychi Monastery (Ukrainian: Видубицький монастир, Vydubyts'kyi monastyr) is an historic monastery in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

The monastery was established between 1070 and 1077 by Vsevolod, son of Yaroslav the Wise. It was a family cloister of Vsevolod's son Vladimir Monomakh and his descendants.

Vydubychi Monastery

Church of St Paraskeba (Pyatnitskaya)

~~ Photo Series ~~ Churches ~~

•  HDR Photo

The Church of St. Paraskeba (Pyatnitskaya), Chernigov Ukraine

The crowning achievement of Chernihiv masters was the exquisite Church of St Paraskeba (Pyatnitskaya), constructed at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. This graceful building was seriously damaged in the Second World War; its original medieval outlook was reconstructed to a design by Peter Baranovsky.

Chernihiv

Church, Poshtova Square

Coming next week:  Photo Series ~ Churches.

And why not?  For most major Christian religions, next week is the week before Easter.

The Saturday Archive Series

The Poshtova Square (Ukrainian: Поштова площа, translit.: Poshtova Ploscha, literally: Postal Square) in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, is one of the oldest historic squares of the city.

Archeological finds are dated back to the 4th century A.D.

A crossing of several historic streets such as Volodymyrsky Descent, Borychiv Descent and Sahaydachny Street, the square is located at the Dnieper riverfront right next to the Kiev River Port.

The square is served by the metro (the Poshtova Ploshcha station), the funicular, trams, and buses.

The square received its name from Podil post station that was opened there in 1846. The square was also known under an alternative name as Rizdvo (Christmas) Square, derived from Rizdvo Church built in 1810-1814 and destroyed in 1930s. The square underwent a significant reconstruction in 1970s when the Kurenivsko-Chervonoarmiyska Metro Line was in construction and only the post station was saved. Currently, the post station is used as a small art gallery.

Poshtova Square

Tropical Scene, Finike

• HDR Photo

This picture was taken about a one minute walk away from the Harbor at Finike, seen last week. Hey, if your bus is going to have problems with the AC, you might as well come away from it with a few good photos!

The View of the Dnieper

• HDR Photo

Mariinsky Park in Kiev has a number of scenic views overlooking the Dnieper and the Left Bank of Kiev. This is an evening view from one of them. This photo is about four years old, but it wasn't until recently that I returned to it and did some processing that makes it awesome! The structure in the center of the photo is the Moscovsky Bridge.

Rodina Mat (Motherland Statue), Kiev

• HDR Photo

Mother Motherland (Ukrainian: Батьківщина-Мати) is a monumental statue of the "Mother Motherland" in Kiev, Ukraine. The sculpture is a part of Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev. Built by Yevgeny Vuchetich, the steel statue stands 62 meters tall upon the museum building with the overall structure measuring 102 m and weighing 560 tons. The sword in the statue's right hand is 16 m long weighing 9 tons, with the left hand holding up a 13 m by 8 m shield with the Coat of arms of the Soviet Union. The Memorial hall of the Museum displays marble plaques with carved names of more than 11,600 soldiers and over 200 workers of the home-front honored during the war with the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Hero of Socialist Labor.

Rodina Mat

Strange, I seem to remember a much longer article about this on Wikipedia. Now, this paragraph is about it.

Windmill at Pirogovo

The Saturday Archive Series continues…

The territory of historic Pyrohiv now serves as the location of a 1.5-square-kilometre (370-acre) outdoor Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine. Founded in 1969, the museum contains over 300 pieces of folk architecture brought here from all parts of Ukraine and carefully reassembled. The picturesque hill with several windmills is the museum centrepiece and the entire territory of the museum is divided into sectors, each representing the folk architecture and life of a specific Ukrainian region.

Commoner's homes, buildings of small trade, commerce and local administration, and old wooden village churches contain authentic items that represent the everyday lifestyle of Ukrainian villagers and townsfolk. Local volunteers and modern Ukrainian artisans selling their wares dress in old-style clothes and demonstrate the use of authentic everyday items to visitors.

Pyrohiv museum has been accorded the status of State Museum of Ukraine and is affiliated with the Institute of Arts, Folklore and Ethnology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine.

Pirogovo

The Harbor at Finike

• HDR Photo

Finike (historically known as Phoenicus) is a district on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province of Turkey, 90 minutes west of the city of Antalya.

Finike is located in the south of the Teke peninsula, and the coast here is a popular tourist destination. However, Finike is best-known for its oranges, the symbol of the town.

Finike, Turkey

This photo is a bit of a fluke, since stopping at this place was not on our itinerary for the day. However, as we're driving to our destination further down the road, the AC on the bus decides to stop working. The temperature outside? About 32C or 90F. So the driver drops us off at this little park and drives away, leaving our tour group to wander around town, but not too far, since everybody is hoping the bus would return soon and we can resume our trip to our actual destination. About 50 minutes later, the bus returns and we resume our journey, but not before I captured this photo and a few other ones that I like quite a lot.

Hydropark Metro Station

• HDR Photo

Hydropark (Ukrainian: Гідропарк) is a landscape-recreational park (waterpark) on the Dnieper River in Kiev, Ukraine.

It was created as an entertainment complex with mainly water activities: beaches, boating, water attractions. It is located on Venetian (Ukrainian: Венеціанський) and Dolobetsk (Ukrainian: Долобецький) islands; the Venetian Bridge connects these islands. Venetian island is connected with the rest of Kiev by two bridges: the Metro Bridge to the right-bank city and the Rusanivka bridge to the left-bank city. The Hidropark station of Kiev Metro is located on Venetian island.

Current activities available: number of beaches (including one for children and one for nudes), boat and catamarans rental, ping-pong and tennis, paintball and football, water attractions, restaurants, casino and Sun-City Slavutych disco club (right on the beach), open-air gym (Soviet era heritage) and riverboat excursions.

Hydropark

This entrance to the Metro station is in a little used portion of the park, however, it was open when I visited there last summer.

Soviet Imagery, Paton Bridge

Paton Bridge is one of the bridges across the Dnieper in Kiev, and is named after its designer. Built between 1941 and 1953, is the world's first all-welded bridge and is also the longest bridge in Kiev having a length of 1,543 metres (5,062 ft). Traffic across the bridge was opened on 5 November 1953. The bridge also acts as a segment of the Small Ring Road of Kiev.

Paton Bridge

Beach Path, Red Sea, Egypt (HDR)

The Saturday Archive Series continues...

A slightly revised version of a photo posted last year.

Gnarly (HDR)

Seen at Simena Sun Club, Kemer Turkey.